Most water heaters are capable of delivering water at a desired temperature in steady state conditions where the water demand or flow rate is substantially constant. However, water heating systems presently available or prior art water heating systems fall short when attempting to maintain a water output at a constant predetermined temperature level during rapid shifts or fluctuations in water demand. It is understood that the demand for water is directly related to the output flow rate requested from the water heating system. Prior art water heating systems will provide the water output flow rate corresponding to the water demand placing the predetermined temperature setting as a secondary consideration. Placing predetermined water output temperature as a secondary consideration creates two major thermal related problems. The first issue is encountered during a rapid increase in water demand, wherein the user or device experiences a sudden drop in water temperature or a cold water splash. The remaining issue occurs during a rapid decrease in water demand, wherein the user or device experiences a sudden spike in water temperature, thereby creating a possible burn or scald type hazard. Furthermore, none of the prior art water heaters are capable of delivering water at the predetermined or desired temperature range without substantial delays. The rapid shifts in water demand creates a transient condition within the water heating system wherein such existing systems are ill equipped to handle.
On-demand water heaters are gaining popularity because of their reduced space requirement in addition to improved energy advantages. The current on-demand water heaters have well known drawbacks, most notably, the uncontrollable and undesirable fluctuation of temperature of the output water during water usage. When output water flow increases, the temperature of the output water decreases. Conversely, when output water flow decreases, the temperature of the output water increases. This creates undesirable temperature fluctuations for users, appliances, and the like. Disadvantages of these tankless water heaters are well known in the art and general population, such a discussion is described in Wikipedia, and reads as follows:                Installing a tankless system comes at an increased cost, particularly in retro-fit applications. They tend to be particularly expensive in areas such as the US where they are not dominant, compared to the established tank design. If a storage water heater is being replaced with a tankless one, the size of the electrical wiring or gas pipeline may have to be increased to handle the load and the existing vent pipe may have to be replaced, possibly adding expense to the retrofit installation. Many tankless units have fully modulating gas valves that can range from as low as 10,000 to over 1,000,000 BTUs. For electrical installations (non-gas), AWG 10 or 8 wire, corresponding to 10 or 6 mm2, is required for most POU (point of use) heaters at North American voltages. Larger whole house electric units may require up to AWG 2 wire. In gas appliances, both pressure and volume requirements must be met for optimum operation.        There is a longer wait to obtain hot water. A tankless water heater only heats water upon demand, so all idle water in the piping starts at room temperature. Thus there is a more apparent “flow delay” for hot water to reach a distant faucet.        There is a short delay between the time when the water begins flowing and when the heater's flow detector activates the heating elements or gas burner. In the case of continuous use applications (showers, baths, washing machine) this is not an issue. However, for intermittent use applications (for example when a hot water faucet is turned on and off repeatedly) this can result in periods of hot water, then some small amount of cold water as the heater activates, followed quickly by hot water again. The period between hot/cold/hot is the amount of water which has flowed though the heater before becoming active. This cold section of water takes some amount of time to reach the faucet and is dependent on the length of piping.        Since a tankless water heater is inactive when hot water is not being used, they are incompatible with passive (convection-based) hot water recirculation systems. They may be incompatible with active hot water recirculation systems and will certainly use more energy to constantly heat water within the piping, defeating one of a tankless water heater's primary advantages.        Tankless water heaters often have minimum flow requirements before the heater is activated, and this can result in a gap between the cold water temperature, and the coolest warm water temperature that can be achieved with a hot and cold water mix.        Similarly, unlike with a tank heater, the hot water temperature from a tankless heater is inversely proportional to the rate of the water flow—faster the flow, the less time the water spends in the heating element being heated. Mixing hot and cold water to the “right” temperature from a single-lever faucet (say, when taking a shower) takes some practice. Also, when adjusting the mixture in mid-shower, the change in temperature will initially react as a tanked heater does, but this also will change the flow rate of hot water. Therefore some finite time later the temperature will change again very slightly and require readjustment. This is typically not noticeable in non-shower applications. A temperature compensating valve tends to eliminate this issue. Tankless systems are reliant on the water pressure that is delivered to the property. In other words, if a tankless system is used to deliver water to a shower or water faucet, the pressure is the same as the pressure delivered to the property and cannot be increased, whereas in tanked systems the tanks can be positioned above the water outlets (in the loft/attic space for example) so the force of gravity can assist in delivering the water, and pumps can be added into the system to increase pressure. Power showers, for example, cannot be used with tankless systems because it cannot deliver the hot water at a fast enough flow-rate required by the pump.        
A typical water demand scenario is provided in the following example. A first user draws water at a desired temperature at a bathroom faucet while simultaneously a second user opens a kitchen faucet. The output water temperature experienced by both users dramatically decreases since the total flow rate through the water heater increases, and thus, the volume of water to be heated per unit of time has increased while the burner output remains constant (or the system is not capable of keeping pace with the increased water demand). At the other end of the spectrum, in a situation where two users are using water at desired temperature at two separate faucets, where one user closes a faucet, the remaining open faucet will experience a spike (dramatic increase) in temperature. This is due to a decrease in the volume of water to be heated per unit time resulting in a reduction of water flow through the water heater resulting in an increase in output water temperature.
Other well known drawbacks associated current on demand water heaters include the cold sandwich effect, freeze hazards, and dead zones. Controls for water heaters are plagued with limitations and lack the sophistication to maximize system efficiency.
The purpose of the present invention is to overcome several shortcomings in the aforementioned prior art as well as the introduction of additional novel features.